September 28, 2010

Lugo tossed in fifth

Julio Lugo was just thrown out of the game by home plate umpire Joe West for tossing his bat, helmet and elbow pad after striking out looking to end the top of the fifth inning.

Lugo, who was a late entry into the Orioles' lineup for the ill Brian Roberts, struck out looking twice and singled in his other at-bat. He didn't say anything to West following the second strikeout, but the home plate umpire obviously objected to the equipment tossing.

With Lugo ejected, Ty Wigginton moved over to second base and Brandon Snyder entered the game at first.

The Orioles are trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth as Brad Bergesen clearly doesn't have it tonight while dealing with the left-handed heavy Rays lineup.

Comments

This sort of reaction-ejection by an umpire has always made me wonder. Considering Lugo had been called out looking twice, obviously he could be upset with himself, hence throwing his helmet and gloves. But if the umpire assumes that he's mad about the calls, then tossing him is basically admitting that the called third strike(s) was a terrible call (in this case, his first strikeout was a very bad call, while the second was an okay call). So what's to be gained by ejecting him, aside from proving that you know you're calling a bad strike zone?

I know it is easy to blame the umpire and joes short fuse is well known.. Like masons call in the ravens game sunday the rules are what they are, even if the players frustration is not critcism of the official he is supposed to know the rules, but this is lugo all season..

Either way, Lugo should have better control of his emotions. I thought it was great that Zambrano was so fiery while he destroyed water coolers. But I would rather take the quiet Ripken type than to show kids its ok to throw your equipment when you lose your cool.

Excellent point made by Hugh. I totally agree that Umpire lost his cool and shouldn't of thrown out Lugo.

Think possibly Joe's ego has finally got the best of him. I'm a defender of umpires, but Joe West is out of control. There is his first year as the newly elected president of the WUA. Just makes me wonder if the new position has created the arrogance that he often displays. I don't think there is another umpire who runs a close second to him in the number of ejections he has dished out this year. The rumor mill has the umpire's retirement age changing next year and it's alleged that a number of older umpires will be forced to retire. In any case, Joe West needs to go!

Are you kidding? The batters around Lugo in the lineup always do WORSE when he is in the line-up. Look at the stats!!! No other batter on the team has hit into MORE DOUBLE PLAYS. In fact, he's one of the worst in the majors. Wow!!! A 249 average makes him a great contributor to the line-up He's also had a lot of errors. Lugo=cancer to the lineup. The team has won more games with out him, then they have with him. Do you honestly think that's a coincidence?

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About the bloggers

A Baltimore native, Dan Connolly has been covering sports for 14 years, and baseball and the Orioles for 10 seasons, including the past six with The Sun. His first year covering baseball on a daily basis was Cal Ripken Jr.'s final season as a player. It's believed that is just a coincidence.

Steve Gould is an assistant sports editor for The Sun, overseeing Orioles coverage. The Columbia native joined The Sun as a sports copy editor in 2006 after graduating from the University of Maryland.

Peter Schmuck has been covering baseball for a lot longer than Steve Gould has been on this earth. He is now a general sports columnist, but has been a beat writer covering three major league teams (the Dodgers, Angels and Orioles) and also spent a decade as the Sun's national baseball writer. If you want more of his insight on the Orioles and other sports issues, check out his personal blog -- The Schmuck Stops Here.